Decision about Angular 2, React

React is by far on a very accelerate trend now vs Angular 2 that, even if it did bring some new things on the table and it's elegant (enough), not everybody is a TypeScript ace.
And TypeScript should not be necessary. CoffeeScript is way more elegant anyway.
So although Angular 2 did get some new traction, React is here to stay, it will cover more and more ground and be part of stacks at companies all over the globe so it can not be ignored and it is a sure bet.

4 upvotes·2 comments·668 views

Decision at StackShare about Hotjar, Crazy Egg, Stackshare

We needed to look more into how user interact with certain pages (scroll, click, move the mouse around) so we had to decide between Crazy Egg and Hotjar .
I've used both solution in the past so I was familiar with the features for each, but each one has a unique set of data sets and so it will fit diffrently for each case.
At #stackshare we've decided to go with Crazy Egg mainly because of the click maps as we can see where people are clicking on certain elements, buttons and clicks and we can spot bottle necks.
A very good feature that Hotjar is missing is also the source of the traffic for the clicks. As there are large diffrences between diurect, organic, social and referral traffic as far as user behaivor.

Decision at StackShare about JIRA, Asana, Basecamp, Trello, Kanban

There are lots of project management tools available nowadays. The choice ended up between Trello and Basecamp. Asana , JIRA and monday.com got a fair review but they didn't make it to the final list for several reasons (either way to complex or some UX issues or just too many options - good in some cases but not a good fit in this case).

Between Basecamp and Trello the battle was between ease of use and price.
Basecamp packs a great set of features and if you are ready to move to an all in one solution: chat, file storage, and a PM tool, then @basecanp is by far the right choice. But since all the features are within one package that cannot be customized, moving to Basecamp but only using a part of the tool feels.. well.. not right. On the other hand Trello has the #kanban format that is just too easy to use and the price point for small and midsize team that no one can beat.

At the end, all solutions have a good fit in some cases. A better fit. But I think Trello can do the job in any case - it can fit with any scenario.

Decision about GitHub, Slack, Semaphore, Codeship

When it comes to continuous Integration services, the choice is hard. There are several solutions available and it looks like the dev scene is very split.
We've read and reviewed several solutions and we ended up making the choice between Codeship and Semaphore . Although Semaphore is used by slightly more developers, we've experienced a faster and easy flow using Codeship.
Both do integrate Slack and GitHub very well, so this is not a point to set them apart.
Both have a complex pricing system that is not that easy to calculate and predict. However, out in the wild, we found Codeship to have a better price point at heavy use.

Decision about GitHub, Zapier, Trello

Although Trello has some good and easy to use triggers to push updates from Trello in different environments we use, using Zapier has made our life much easier. Creating a zap is easy and a full management of those zaps are in a full overview to review and manage.

With GitHub in the same combo with Zapier and Trello it's very easy to track issues and bugs and make them available to the responsible project manager or team directly.

The decision to go with KISSmetrics for our main live user input analytics tool was based on the integrations available with Slack and Shopify . Alterting the right people based on user actions without the noise that most of the tools will push as notification made the difference between KISSmetrics and the rest in this segment.
Then the fact that Zapier can connect KISSmetrics with other apps like Salesforce Sales Cloud and G Suite makes the process very smooth.

Also the fact that we can automate some of the campaigns is saving a lot of time

2 upvotes·259 views

Decision about Chartio, Google Analytics

Most companies use Google Analytics via the web interface. And although it packs a lot of power and features, it still lacks integration with all other data sources.
You can hook Search Console and Adwords but that would be it.
However, there is a way you can tap into Google Analytics and overlap it with any other data source you have - from your backend or any other tool you might use. And that is by using the Google Analytics API. Lots of people are familiar with its existence but few are using it.
The decision to move and use Google API was based on the shortcomings of the web interface and the ability to collaborate using the same data set, the same view.

So combining Chartio for a good sharable view with Google Analytics API and all the other data we have ( semrush, oncrawl and backend data from several sources) provides a quick view on the KPI we care about and a common view that can be discussed easily - especially for remote teams.

Decision about Balsamiq

I use both Balsamiq and Axure. Not sure if it is a fair comparison between the two since Balsamiq is used for quick mockups and Axure for complex dynamic ones.
However, no matter how complex, I find that Balsamiq can cover the needs well.
I use Balsamiq to showcase elements on a page for UX reasons mainly. To give just a few directions to the design team - not specs. And for those reasons, it fits perfectly.
The fact that it's a one time fee is also a great benefit - monthly subscriptions like Axure, although it's fair enough, it brings that heavy load on quarterly budgets and expenses.

Decision about Atom, Sublime Text

I used to be a hardcore fan of Sublime Text. I am not a coder so I only use it for quick scripts or to play around. I don't spend hours and hours a day within Sublime Text though.
However, last year (2017) a colleague, a developer, showed me Atom - a game changer. Love the customisation and overall feel while coding. Again, I am not spending hours a day within but I've noticed I've spent more time playing around and coding stuff since i've moved to Atom.

Decision about updown.io

Lots of options to use when it comes to website uptime monitoring. Price differences are so low that this is no longer a factor.
We ended up choosing updown.io because it just feels right: look and feel, dashboard, easy to edit and add properties, clear and nice transparency overall. It just feels good.
updown.io is using a credit system that can be managed by the timeframe you choose to get the site(s) checked!.
Although I use credit card for payment - there is the option to pay via BTC. I'll probably never use that - it's nice to see it though. :)